And...now the Trac won't start

[J Piroth]

So...on top of the transmission that needs to be replaced and the spark plugs I know I need to have changed...I walked out of my office at lunch to find that my Trac won't start.



Battery seems to have enough juice. Radio works. A/C works. Everything sounds and looks normal until I turn the key. Then all I get is a lot of stuttering lights on the dash and a ticking/clicking sound.



FML. Any idea what this could be? It was working fine this morning when I drove it to work. Starter?

 

[Jeremy Desmond]

Check your battery terminals for corrosion and if they are tight.

 

[Richard L]

Bad battery cable connections, or bad starter solenoid?



...Rich

 

[J Piroth]

Battery connections are solid. I'm thinking it's the starter.



Popped the hood and tried to jump it and it's still doing the same thing. When the key is turned, there's loud clicking from the engine and the dash lights flicker, but that's about it.

 

[Duane Foster]

About every 3 months I'll turn the key to on, and everything seems fine until I turn the key to start the truck, and then everything goes completely dead. Never any signs of a problem right up until I try to start the truck. I clean the battery terminals, and everything's fine for another 3 months. This just happened today. Didn't surprise me because I had a feeling it was about time for it. This is my '02 Sport Trac. It's been doing this since I bought it almost 4 1/2 years ago.

 

[J Piroth]

Yeah! Ended up being the negative battery terminal after all.



It looked ok, but the cable was white and corroded inside the sheath. Cut it back a bit, clamped on a new $4 terminal and it's good to go. :banana:

 

[Richard L]

Like I said... Probably a bad battery cable connection ! :grin:



...Rich

 

[J Piroth]

Yep, RichardL called it. (Though technically Jeremy got there first.)

 

[Richard L]

Yep, Smart people think alike....:grin::grin::haveabeer: